Photo: Greifvogelwarte Riegersburg

Greifvogelwarte Riegersburg

Riegersburg, Styria

Kings of the Air At the Riegersburg Birds of Prey Centre, located slightly below the main castle on the north side of the volcanic cone, birds of prey shows are presented in an exciting, entertaining, and informative way. Sitting on wooden benches in the amphitheater-like facility, visitors experience elegant glides and abrupt dives of eagles, rapid hunting flights of falcons, and skillful flight maneuvers of kites and vultures. Always with the tension of the unexpected in the air, because the – let's just say – "free will" of the animals provides surprises in almost every show. As if to prove it, the American bald eagle flies razor-thin over the heads of the spectators, only to land – not as elegantly as promised – in the water basin, where a small piece of meat awaits it. Fish, we learn, would actually have been preferred. "We stimulate and entice the natural instincts of the animals. But this is not training," explains the falconer. Even if it sometimes looks that way. The sea eagle Hugo, for example, spirals into the air like something out of a movie, only to then begin an impressive dive... One animal after another is taken from the aviary, introduced zoologically and personally, released into free flight, and then lured back to its home. Gyrfalcon Hanny also gets her turn. She even has a side job. "We protect the Eurofighters in Zeltweg." Keyword bird scaring. This means challenging the air supremacy of other birds to keep them away from the airport. In areas where large falcons regularly hunt, small, but especially large birds, do not like to stay. This increases flight safety, as birds can be dangerous to aircraft if they get into the turbines. By the way: The animals present at the Riegersburg castle complex are only a part of the stock of the Weinhappel falconry. Most of the birds are in the breeding facility near Bad Gleichenberg. Here, among other things, the breeding of the peregrine falcon has been successful, which, with up to 370 km/h, is the fastest animal on Earth.